Of the 35 million adults in the United States who are over the age of 65, approximately 6.5 million suffer from depression.

If you have a parent or loved one who is exhibiting signs of depression (feelings of hopelessness, loss of interest in activities they used to enjoy, increased fatigue), it can be hard to know what to do to help them feel more like their old self.

These four tips are a great place to start when it comes to caring for a loved one who’s battling depression.

​1. Encourage Physical Activity

Several studies show that regular physical activity has a major impact on older adults’ happiness and general health.

Not only does exercise aid in the production of endorphins, chemicals that minimize pain and promote positive feelings, but it’s also essential for seniors who want to maintain their independence.

Seniors who exercise on a regular basis -- specifically those who lift weights and focus on building strength -- are less likely to suffer from falls and fractures that can severely limit their mobility.

​2. Encourage Regular Social Interaction

Regular social interaction is also important, especially for seniors who live alone. In addition to helping seniors feel happier and more optimistic, some other benefits that come with an active social life include:

​4. Seek Professional Help

Many seniors are hesitant to seek out a psychiatrist on their own to treat their depression, but you should still try to encourage your parent or loved one to sit down with a professional and talk about what they’re experiencing.

You may also want to see if they’re willing to let you participate in the appointment with them.

Seeing a psychiatrist might be less intimidating if you’re present. You’ll also be familiar with the psychiatrist’s recommendations and can make sure they’re following their advice and taking medications as prescribed.

It can be hard to see a parent or loved one struggle with depression. But, fortunately, there are lots of ways that you can help them feel better. Be sure to keep these tips in mind and don’t forget to be on the lookout for early signs of depression.

​Meditation is a Mainstream Movement

Many cultures have practiced various types of meditation for thousands of years. Meditation transcends individual religions and national affiliations. Although some people still consider meditation to be an activity for hippies and dreamers, meditation has gone mainstream in the Western world over the past few decades. So much so, in fact, that some of the most influential people in the world of business and industry dedicate time out of their very busy lives to practice it. Just a few of these people include:

Rupert Murdoch (Chairman and CEO of Fox News Corp)

Bill Ford (Executive Chairman of Ford Motor Company)

Ray Dalio (Founder of Co-CIO of Bridgewater Associates)

Oprah Winfrey (Chairwoman and CEO of Harpo Productions Inc.)

Padmasree Warrior, the CTO of Cisco Systems, claims meditation is “Almost like a reboot for your brain and your soul,” She also says “It makes me so much calmer when I’m responding to emails later.”

Maybe you have tried to meditate at some point, or maybe this is the first article you are reading about it. Regardless of your familiarity with meditation, here are five great benefits of meditation for boomers and retirees just like you.

​Five Great Benefits of Meditation for Boomers and Retirees

There are many wonderful benefits of practicing meditation in general. However, there are five really great benefits of meditation for boomers and retirees. They are:

Increased Health and Wellness. Meditation has been scientifically proven to help decrease heart rate, stress and inflammation while increasing immunity, mood and emotional stability. In fact, Dr. Michael Irwin, the head of psychoneuroimmunology at UCLA found that breast cancer survivors partaking in a certain type of meditation experienced significant down-regulation of the genes that lead to inflammation, and up-regulation of the genes that help protect the body from viral infections. According to Dr. Irwin’s research, the lower the body’s inflammation levels were, the lower the risk for cancer recurrence was in his female test subjects.

Refashioning Neural Pathways. We sometimes forget how much power we have as human beings to control the thoughts that shape our everyday realities. According to recent neuroscientific findings, certain types of meditation have been shown to actively rewire the brain’s neuroplastic networking. “Neuroplasticity” refers to how our brains decode incoming stimuli to conform to our expectations for how reality looks and functions. Rewiring our neural pathways can help boost mental awareness and foster a more empowered, positive outlook on life. This can not only lead to increased cognitive awareness, but also an appreciation for many little things in life we might have taken for granted for most of our lives up until now.

Learning to Live in the Moment. Many people spend their entire lives working toward something, but not necessarily appreciating the moments they spend doing said work. As we age, we see more and more people who have worked so hard for what they have lose the ability to enjoy what they have earned for one reason or another. Certain types of meditation can help block out external influences that keep people focused on the future, in order to help them fall totally in the love with the present moment(s) they are given instead.

Projecting Our Thoughts into Reality. Certain types of meditation can directly affect physical reality outside of one’s own head…. Seriously! In numerous clinical trials, Stanford Physicist William Tiller’s test subjects altered the electromagnetic frequencies of electrical devices they were not in the same room as, nor in any direct contact with at any point. This means their minds were able to physically affect matter outside of their own heads. Think about the implications of being able to project thoughts into conscious reality, and then realize how much power we actually have to control the realities outside of our own heads in kind.

Meditation Helps Increase Global Cultural Awareness. We live in a world that grows smaller and more intimate everyday. This is a trend that will only increase as technology keeps bringing people closer together. People who choose to open their minds and hearts to other cultures, ethnicities, religions and social backgrounds are better positioning themselves for happiness and harmony inside, as well as with their human neighbors near and far alike. In fact, a clinically validated experiment in Washington D.C. during the summer of 1993 demonstrated that those who partake in certain types of meditation can positively affect their human brethren by the thought intentions they emit where the reduction of social strife is concerned.

​Choosing the Type of Meditation That’s Right for You

​There are many different types of meditation. The only way to know which type of meditation is right for you is to try different types until you find the one you feel works best. There are many organizations and groups that instruct people just like you in meditation techniques.

One of these organizations is The Human Radio Educational Research Project. The Human Radio is dedicated to helping its students work on their own evolutionary development through a proprietary, deliberately scaffolded visualization meditation curriculum. This organization works with folks of all cultural, religious, ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds promoting human empowerment and compassion both inside of one’s self, as well as with one’s human brothers and sisters near and far alike. They rely on donations and the money they bring in from their services to sustain their global presence. You can learn more about The Human Radio by clicking here. You can also try out their introductory visualization meditation exercise in the comfort and privacy of your home on their website, or on YouTube by clicking here.

No matter what person or organization you choose to help you learn meditation, or what type of meditation you find works best to enhance and enrich your life, the mounting body of scientific evidence only keeps bolstering what many people have intuitively known for thousands of years…. that we are all the masters of our own destinies. People who choose to take the reins of their own destinies with the help of meditation are facilitating their own holistic health and happiness above and below, inside and out alike.

*Retired Brains and The Human Radio Educational Research Project do not claim meditation of any type can diagnose, treat or cure any illness, disease, ailment or condition. The information contained in this blog article is anecdotal based on the available body of clinical evidence supporting the effectiveness of certain types of meditation. Links to this evidence can be found throughout this article. As with any lifestyle choice you make, be sure to do your own research before beginning or altering your daily routine…. and if need be, to consult a professional in order to help you decide the best course of action for your own life where meditation, or any other prescriptive activity is concerned.

What is Bridge?

Bridge is a game played with a 52 card deck by four people divided into two teams. It involves strategy, deduction, concentration and visualization. Bridge originated in the 17th century. Back then, it was mainly played by English nobility in a form that is considered crude by today’s gaming standards. Its popularity allowed bridge to spread worldwide. In the late 1800’s in Turkey and France, rules and strategies were added to the English version of bridge that helped evolve the game toward what bridge players today know it to be.

The Benefits of Playing Bridge

Here at Retired Brains, we love helping you find activities that add value to your life. This includes leisurely pursuits that keep you socially active and mentally sharp. In this spirit, we are going to discuss the benefits of playing bridge, in order to help you decide if bridge might be a good activity to partake in. Some of the many benefits of playing bridge include:

Meaningful social interaction

Strengthening communication and teamwork skills

Maintaining mental sharpness

Boosting immunity to ward off illness

Now, it is no secret that playing bridge is akin to mental gymnastics. In this regard, stimulating your brain regularly is believed to be an important component in warding off diseases including Alzheimer’s and Dementia. However, boosting immunity to ward off illness was not necessarily considered to be one of the benefits of playing bridge until the early 2000’s, when Professor Marian Diamond (no pun intended!) undertook an experiment at the University of California Berkeley with 12 ladies in their 70’s and 80’s.

​Professor Diamond began by taking a blood sample from each lady, and then had the group play bridge for 90 minutes. After that, she took blood samples again. She found that 8 of the 12 ladies had increased levels of T Cells in their bodies as a result of play. T Cells, of course, are used by the human body to fight infection. Professor Diamond’s hypothesis, that using the dorsolateral cortex of the brain by playing bridge can boost the immune system, was proven correct. Isn’t that neat? What is more, advances in modern technology mean you do not even need to leave the comfort of your home to enjoy the benefits of playing bridge!

Why Play Online Bridge?

Bridge is a natural game of choice for retirees, because retirement allows you to have more time on your hands to enjoy leisurely pursuits. For example, duplicate bridge typically allows for 7-8 minutes per hand, with anywhere from 22-26 hands per session. This means one session can take almost 3.5 hours to complete! Some people enjoy leaving the house to play bridge in community clubs.

However, retirees who enjoy surfing the internet, or those who have disabilities that make going out for extended periods of time difficult, can play online bridge from the comfort and safety of their homes.

If you choose to play online bridge, you can rest assured that your mental sharpness will still benefit from the strategy, deduction, concentration and visualization required. Furthermore, many online bridge sites have a ‘chat’ function, which means you are able to communicate with your partner and other players in live-time. This allows you to experience meaningful social interactions, and even make some new friends in the process. Another benefit, should you choose to play online bridge, is that many platforms are open for play 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. So unlike a community hall with set hours of play, if you choose to play online bridge, you can do so whenever you wish!

Playing Online with the Funbridge Download

Retired Brains has found a fun, interactive and easy-to-use online bridge platform called Funbridge. Funbridge is an established bridge site that connects bridge players from all over the world. Funbridge has individual games, as well as many different kinds of tournaments you can participate in.

To use Funbridge, you need to sign up for an account and download their free, easy-to-use application program for your desktop computer, laptop or mobile device. Once you sign up, you will automatically receive 100 free ‘deals’. You can use these free deals to help you decide if playing online bridge is the right fit for you. If you decide that it indeed is, you can purchase monthly packages, including unlimited play. Please visit the Funbridge website to learn more, and to see if their platform is right for you.

No matter what leisurely pursuits you choose to partake in, we hope this article helps you find stimulating, meaningful activities that are right for you...and that add tremendous value to your retirement years!

*The purpose of this article is to provide helpful information that allows you to make an informed decision as to whether or not playing online bridge is right for you. As with any online or in-person gaming platform, you should always do your research to make sure you understand the terms, conditions, costs and any other stipulations associated with membership. If you have any questions about the Funbridge platform specifically, we recommend contacting them directly.

Image Credit: The image of British nobility playing bridge is used with the permission of Creative Commons licensing, and is courtesy of the MCAD Library. The image was originally created by Charles Dana Gibson in 1903 for Collier’s Weekly.

When it comes to the brain, is it true what they say, use it or lose it? The old adage commonly thrown around groups of retirees does indeed bear weight. Without the constant brain stimulation from working, raising a family, and regularly problem-solving throughout the day, retirees can find themselves at a higher risk for dementia, Alzheimer’s, and other cognitive decline as they age.

Worry not! You don’t have to be reading War and Peace every day to get your brain the exercise it needs to stay sharp. Try these 10 fun activities and hobbies instead:

​Exercise: From low-impact activities to heart-pumping sports, physical fitness isn’t just a great way to keep your bones and muscles strong. The boost in blood circulation and increased balanced, flexibility and coordination all call on some serious action from your brain too. Daily exercise should include activities that help get your heart rate up and stretch your muscles - brisk 20 minutes walks, moderate hikes, bicycling, swimming, playing tennis or golf, tai chi, even mowing the lawn.

Coloring: The peaceful, artistic nature of coloring translates easily from child to adult. Coloring has been shown in adults to improve mood, lower stress levels, and help stimulate brain activity. Free printable coloring sheets showcasing beautiful flowers, symmetrical crosses, animals and other symbols can be found online.

Playing Music: Energize brain function with a high-demand cognitive task like learning a new instrument or singing music. Studies have shown that the reasoning and recall required in learning new skills like this enhance episodic memory in older adults. Weary of picking up a guitar? Try regular karaoke dates with your friends instead.

Cooking: Hungry for combating dementia and Alzheimer’s? Cooking and baking feed your mind just as much as your stomach. From using your memory in recalling recipes, to measuring, counting, and employing fine motor skills in chopping, stirring, and mixing, your brain is stimulating neural pathway connections. Cooking also employs the use of other senses like smell and taste which are important brain stimulation too!

Games: In addition to your tried and true favorites like Bridge or Rumicube, playing games like Trivial Pursuit and Charades promote active recall and tap into your cognitive reserve. Digital games like Pokemon Go, where you use your mobile device to capture virtual characters in real-life settings, have been shown to not only amuse players young and old, but help seniors exercise their critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

New Hobby: Take up a new hobby that requires you to use fine motor skills - like crocheting, painting, quilting, or scrapbooking. Regularly engaging the small muscles that control the hand, fingers and thumb is vital to keeping that function strong as you age.

Conversation: Engage in regular conversations to help keep your mind sharp. Talking, listening and problem solving are the type of stimulation that lights up many key areas of your brain, and sharing stories from your past, with your grandkids for example, sparks memory function too.

Origami: The ancient Japanese paper-folding art form is an inexpensive hobby where seniors can explore the creative sides of their brains and work out their fine motor skills. Free instructional videos and origami guides can be found online, and this is a great activity to do with your grandchildren.

Learn a New Language: Becoming fluent in a new language is much harder as you age, however, learning basic vocabulary, phrases and conjugation of a foreign tongue is a sure-fire trigger of brain stimulation. Free digital apps like Duolingo help you learn language on the go, especially beneficial if you plan on visiting another country.

How will you embrace the freedom of retirement? Start with finding fun, engaging hobbies that vitalize your brain and help you stay active!

Resources/Info

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